To a superior race of being the pretensions of mankind to extraordinary sanctity and virtue must seem... ridiculous. William Hazlitt
Fighting battles is like courting girls: those who make the most pretensions and are boldest usually win. Rutherford B. Hayes
There is nothing finer in the world than the telling of tales. Split atoms if you wish, but splitting an infinitive-and getting away with it-is far nobler. Lance boils if you wish, but pricking pretensions is often cleaner and always more fun. Greg Bear
Pretensions to moral superiority are devastatingly destructive. Mary Douglas
I have no pretensions whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man. Jane Austen
True glory strikes root, and even extends itself; all false pretensions fall as do flowers, nor can any feigned thing be lasting. Cicero